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☆ FTX customers are getting a rare good deal. Here’s why some are still angry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

And yet, for FTX customers, there’s an unavoidable twinge of resentment over what could have been. See here: If you had one bitcoin in an FTX account in mid-November of 2022, it was worth about $17,500. The bankruptcy managers tracked down all of FTX’s crypto and other holdings and hired an investment manager to sell them. The bull run inflated the value of FTX’s significant crypto holdings, leaving the estate with more than enough to pay back customers. Although FTX said it would have as much as $16 billion to disburse, customers and Uncle Sam get paid out first.

Persons: CNN Business ’, bitcoin, it’d, you’d, Tom Brady, John Ray III, Ray, they’ll, FTX, Uncle Sam, Sam Bankman, SBF, he’d, SBF’s, who’s, Fried Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN —, Sequoia, Prosecutors Locations: New York, FTX, bitcoin, Bankman

☆ FTX says most customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange will get all their money back
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. Almost all customers of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX will get their money back — and more, according to a court filing. FTX's high-profile founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven criminal counts in early November, including charges related to stealing billions of dollars from FTX's customers. FTX had to find other ways to raise money because it has large sum of cryptocurrency missing from the exchange. Instead, the Debtors have had to look to other sources of recoverable value to repay creditors," FTX said in a press release on Wednesday.

Persons: Sam Bankman, FTX, Fried, Bitcoin, John Ray III, Ray, — CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos Organizations: Amazon, FTX Locations: New York, Alameda, Bankman, Anthropic

☆ Ahead of sentencing, SBF team argues for 5-6 years in jail because FTX customers will get money back
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bankman-Fried's fate will be announced in Manhattan on Thursday morning by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the monthlong trial in November. Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven charges tied to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and the roughly $10 billion of customer deposits that went missing. Lawyers representing the bankruptcy estate of FTX told a judge in Delaware last month that they expect to fully repay customers and creditors with legitimate claims. Bankman-Fried's defense team has asked the court for a sentence in the range of 63 to 78 months. Beyond the fact that he's a "first time, nonviolent offender," attorneys for the FTX founder largely lean on the argument that Bankman-Fried's risky bets paid off and the bankruptcy estate expects to fully repay FTX customers.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, FTX, Andrew Dietderich, —, John Ray III, Michael Kives Organizations: K5 Global, SpaceX Locations: Manhattan, Delaware, Alameda, Bankman, Palo Alto , California

☆ As Sam Bankman-Fried awaits prison sentence, FTX customers await a surprise: full repayment
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Government exhibit in the case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Lawyers representing the bankruptcy estate of FTX told a judge in Delaware last week that they expect to fully repay customers and creditors with legitimate claims. After the dust settled from FTX's bankruptcy, Solana saw a huge run-up in its price, and it continued to rally after the September report. The bankruptcy estate of FTX has been looking to sell its Anthropic stake, according to a court filing this month. For FTX customers, being made whole, according to a judge's ruling, means getting the cash equivalent of what their crypto was worth in November 2022.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, FTX, Andrew Dietderich, —, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Brendan Mcdermid, John Ray III, Michael Kives, Braden Perry, FTX's, Ray, we're, It's, Solana, Lewis Kaplan, Elizabeth Williams, Michael Lewis, Lewis, IOUs, Perry, SBF, Renato Mariotti, Mariotti Organizations: Bankman, Federal Court, Reuters, K5 Global, SpaceX, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CNBC, Alameda Research, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, SEC Chari Locations: FTX, Delaware, Plenty, Palo Alto , California, New York City, U.S, Bankman, Solana, Alameda, FTX's, Anthropic, New York, Brooklyn

When the cryptocurrency exchange FTX declared bankruptcy about 15 months ago, it seemed few customers would recover much money or crypto from the platform. Well, it turns out, FTX lawyers told a bankruptcy judge this week that they expected to pay creditors in full, though they said it was not a guarantee and had not yet revealed their strategy. The surprise turn of events is raising serious questions about what happens next. Among them: What does this mean for the lawsuits FTX has filed in an attempt to claw back billions in assets that the company says it’s owed? Will the possibility that customers could be made whole be raised at Bankman-Fried’s sentencing?

Persons: FTX, John Ray III, “, we’re, Sam Bankman, it’s Locations: Bankman

(AP) — A federal appeals court has ordered the appointment of an independent examiner in the bankruptcy case of FTX amid concerns about widespread fraud preceding the collapse of the multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. A three-judge panel in Philadelphia issued the ruling Friday in an appeal filed by the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, who serves as a government watchdog in Chapter 11 reorganizations. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey denied the trustee’s request last February. The appeals court reversed Dorsey’s ruling, agreeing with the trustee that the bankruptcy code mandates the appointment of an examiner. “Such is the case here.”Restrepo also noted that an examiner is required to make his or her findings public, whereas a debtor or creditors committee conducting an internal investigation has no such obligation.

Persons: John Dorsey, Dorsey, John Ray III, FTX, Sam Bankman, Fried, Prosecutors, ”, Luis Felipe Restrepo, ” Restrepo Organizations: —, U.S, FTX, Alameda Research Locations: Del, Philadelphia, FTX

☆ FTX is considering 3 bids to restart the crypto exchange, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX is considering proposals from three bidders to relaunch the crypto exchange, Bloomberg reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementFTX, which dramatically imploded last November, is considering three bids to restart the crypto exchange, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg reported that Cofsky told the judge that the options include selling the entire exchange, bringing in a partner to help restart it, or that FTX could relaunch the exchange itself. The legal team added that the crypto exchange had so far recovered $7.3 billion. AdvertisementAdvertisementSelling or relaunching FTX could be key to reimbursing customers who lost money after it shut down last year.

Persons: —, Kevin Cofsky, FTX, Cofsky, John Ray III, CoinTelegraph, Sam Bankman, Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Organizations: Bloomberg, Service Locations: Delaware

NEW YORK (AP) — For a while, Sam Bankman-Fried tried to convince politicians and the public that he was the next J.P. Morgan. The trial of Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency brokerage FTX, will begin Tuesday with jury selection. Political Cartoons View All 1190 ImagesThe 31-year-old Bankman-Fried founded FTX in 2019, and it grew rapidly. Bankman-Fried is expected come face-to-face with his former lieutenants at FTX for the first time since its collapse. She has previously said in a statement through her lawyers that she knew funneling FTX customers' money into Alameda was wrong.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Bernie Madoff, ”, Michael Zweiback, Zweiback, Zalduendo, FTX, SBF ”, J.P, Morgan, Tiger Woods, Justin Timberlake, Bankman, John Ray III, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Ryan Salame, Salame, Ellison, funneling, Christine Adams, Adams, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Judge Lewis A, Kaplan, Changpeng Zhao, Larry Neumeister Organizations: Southern, of, Republicans, “ Prosecutors, Zalduendo LLP, Stanford University, Alameda Research, Alameda, Enron, FTX, Bankman, Prosecutors, The New York Times, NFTs, Securities and Exchange Commission, Binance, SEC Locations: Morgan, of New York, Washington, cryptocurrencies, Silicon Valley, FTX, The Bahamas, Albany, Alameda, Bahamas, New York, Palo Alto , California

FTX entered bankruptcy in November when the global exchange ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run. Several other former FTX executives have pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are cooperating with investigators. The scheme involved Bankman-Fried receiving a loan from Alameda, then transferring the money to his parents. According to FEC records, Singh contributed roughly $9.7 million in 2022 and in late 2020 to various candidates and committees. The judge revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail last month after finding probable cause that he had tampered with witnesses.

Persons: Sam Bankman, ”, Allan Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, FTX, Fried, Bankman, ’, “ Bankman, John Ray III, Joe, Barbara, Ray, “ Fried, Nishad Singh, ” Singh, Singh, Ryan Salame Organizations: —, FTX, Stanford University, Alameda Research, Stanford, FTX Group, Bankman, FEC, FTX Digital Markets Locations: Del, Bahamas, Delaware, Manhattan, Alameda, FTX

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's parents are accused of siphoning millions of dollars from FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Will Gendron | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The fallout of FTX's implosion continues, with Sam Bankman-Fried's parents now facing a lawsuit. Barbara Fried and Allan Joseph Bankman were accused of siphoning millions of dollars from the firm. FTX entered bankruptcy in November when the global exchange ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run. "And together, Bankman and Fried siphoned millions of dollars out of the FTX Group for their own personal benefit and their chosen pet causes." Mr. Ray and his massive team of lawyers, who are collectively running up countless millions of dollars in fees while returning relatively little to FTX clients, know better."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Barbara Fried, Allan Joseph Bankman, SBF's, FTX, Fried, Bankman, John Ray III, Joe, Barbara, Ray Organizations: Service, FTX, Stanford University, Alameda Research, Stanford, FTX Group, Bankman Locations: Wall, Silicon, Bahamas, Delaware, Manhattan, Alameda, FTX, Brooklyn

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried 'did nothing wrong' by leaking his ex-girlfriend's diary entries to New York Times: lawyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers say his leak of Caroline Ellison's diary entries to the New York Times is OK. It's totally fine for Sam Bankman-Fried to give his ex-girlfriend's diary entries to a New York Times reporter, his lawyers said in a court filing. Prosecutors correctly surmised that the entries were provided to the Times by Bankman-Fried, who had access to the writings, which were kept on Google Docs. "But Mr. Bankman-Fried did nothing wrong." "The reporter contacted Mr. Bankman-Fried about a story he was working on concerning Ms. Ellison and asked Mr. Bankman-Fried if he wished to respond," they wrote.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Caroline Ellison's, Bankman, Caroline Ellison, Fried, Ellison, She's, Lewis Kaplan, who's, John Ray III, John Ray, Mr Organizations: New York Times, Morning, Bankman, Prosecutors, Times, Google, Alameda Research

☆ FTX could relaunch - and one of its former VC backers may lead a $250 million funding round to revive the failed exchange, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tribe Capital may lead a $250 million funding round to reboot FTX, according to Bloomberg. Tribe's cofounder Arjun Sethi held talks with the failed crypto exchange in January, sources said. The VC firm and its partners could provide $100 million to fund the relaunch, Bloomberg said. Tribe Capital is considering leading a $250 million fundraising effort to help reboot the failed crypto exchange, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. Tribe's proposal in January would relaunch FTX US, FTX Australia, FTX Japan, FTX EU, FTX International and LedgerX, Bloomberg said.

☆ Here's why you should expect a housing rebound, according to a top economist at the National Association of Realtors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On tap today we've got a great interview with a top real estate economist and this week's best markets stories, including updates on the Silicon Valley Bank meltdown. Nadia Evangelou: What we see in the data is that the housing market will likely pick up in the coming months, in the spring season. NE: It seems that homesales activity has bottomed out, and 2023 will be the turning point for the housing market. Due to low inventory, even though there are relatively few buyers on the market, housing demand continues to outpace housing supply. We expect 4.5 million homes to be sold in 2023, and about 5.3 million homes to be sold in 2024.

☆ Binance continues to get more popular with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX out of the picture, despite increased regulatory scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Binance is extending its dominance in crypto trading since FTX collapsed in November. Its market share grew to 61.8% in February from 59.4% in January, CryptoCompare data showed. According to data from CryptoCompare cited by CoinDesk, Binance increased its market share for the fourth consecutive month in February, growing to 61.8% from 59.4% in January. Coinbase was a distant second with trading volume of $39.9 billion, down 29% from the prior month, and Kraken was third with $19.3 billion, down 11%. Meanwhile, former rival exchange FTX continues to wade through bankruptcy procedures and is effectively out of the picture as far as competition.

☆ FTX's lawyers and advisers cost $38 million for a month of work - and the bankrupt crypto exchange's new CEO charged $305,000 for February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The army of professionals working with FTX billed $38 million in expenses for January. FTX CEO John Ray III submitted a bill for $305,565 for the month of February. Those three firms have over 180 lawyers and over 50 other staffers working on the FTX case, per the CoinDesk report. Sullivan & Cromwell billed 14,569 hours of work in January for a total of $16.8 million. Meanwhile, FTX's trading arm sued Grayscale this week in a bid to claw back $250 million to repay customers.

☆ It's time to chill with al the recession talk
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —In 2021, a bunch of economists and policy makers underestimated the inflation that was taking root around the world. In 2022, as inflation hit 40-year-highs and the Fed ramped up interest rates, many of those commentators went full-on gloomy — predicting a recession was all but inevitable. And that makes it hard, if not impossible, to imagine a recession anytime soon. “Any concern the economy is in recession or close to a recession should be completely dashed by these numbers,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN on Friday. “The economy is further away from recession than ever,” wrote Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.

☆ Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius used Quickbooks for its accounting just like FTX, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius used QuickBooks to log its finances just like FTX. According to an examiner's report, Celsius' tracked its finances in 15 QuickBooks files and failed to produce consolidated statements. Later, Pillay found "significant discrepancies" between account balances in Celsius' QuickBooks files and those used to create consolidated statements, per Decrypt. The court examiner found the "files produced by Celsius were not the original files used to prepare the consolidated financial statements." A detailed probe into the troubled crypto lender found that Celsius misled customers when it advertised its business model.

☆ The New York Times, Stanford University, Coinbase and Netflix are among FTX's laundry list of creditors, court filing shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX owes money to media companies, airlines universities, crypto exchanges, and government agencies. The failed exchange has millions of creditors, including Stanford University, Netflix, and Coinbase. FTX owes money to media companies, airlines, charities, universities, cryptocurrency exchanges, and many government agencies, according to a court filing on Wednesday. Although the list does not say how much money each party is owed, the company has millions of creditors, including FTX customers. FTX's new CEO, John Ray III, said he's looking into the possibility of reviving the failed exchange and resuming the platform's normal operations during its bankruptcy process.

☆ A top investment chief explains why bonds offer an attractive hedge for a mild and brief recession in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I'm senior reporter Phil Rosen, and below I'm sharing my conversation with Northwestern Mutual's chief investment officer, Brent Schutte. He sees the bond market as this year's best recession hedge. Phil Rosen: You said you're expecting a mild and brief recession this year. Brent Schutte: The good news is that the bond market has repriced, and the bond market is a hedge against that recession. BC: I do think earnings will come down this year, and cheaper equities give a margin of safety against that.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried has serious beef with FTX's new boss, John Ray III
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

John Ray, CEO of FTX Group, described a litany of amateurish business practices used to run the multibillion-dollar exchange. This much we know for certain: Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX's new boss, John Ray III, are not each other's biggest fans. From their comments, we can see that they disagree on how to run a company, where certain cash went, and who can repay who. It doesn't take a stoic to make Bankman-Fried look chatty, given the extensive media tour he embarked on after FTX went under. And strangely, as the boss and former boss duke it out, FTX's native token FTT is quietly skyrocketing again.

☆ FTX money trails leading to politicians, media, and other crypto exchanges point to the deep influence of Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what Bankman-Fried seemed to be aiming at: Stash money with all the right people, while lobbying for policy favorable to FTX. As CoinDesk reported this week, 37% of Congress took money from Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer were among the 196 senators and representatives that received funds. Other lawmakers included some who were just sworn into congressional ranks this month, which points to Bankman-Fried possibly seeking to hold sway over new members. GOLDMAN SACHS stock price on Jan. 19, 2023 Markets Insider10.

☆ FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto in hacker heists, the collapsed exchange's new bosses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto to hackers, its new bosses said Tuesday. "It has taken a Herculean investigative effort from our team to uncover this preliminary information," acting CEO John Ray said. Around $415 million of the assets for recovery had been lost in crypto hacks, FTX's new bosses said. Hackers stole $323 million from the Bahamas-based parent company FTX.com, $90 million from FTX, and $2 million from sister trading firm Alameda Research, according to the presentation. As well as the exchange's crypto and cash holdings, they identified $253 million worth of real estate in the Bahamas as potential assets for recovery in Tuesday's presentation.

☆ FTX execs gave campaign cash to 37% of Congress, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CoinDesk reported Wednesday that FTX execs, including Sam Bankman-Fried, gave campaign funds to 196 members of Congress. Among those named in the report include Kevin McCarthy, Chuck Schumer, and some lawmakers who were just sworn in this month. California Representative Lou Correa, for example, took a $2,900 donation directly from Bankman-Fried, CoinDesk found, although he said the two had never met or spoken. Some of the political campaigns told CoinDesk they have talked to FTX's bankruptcy team regarding what to do with the funds. Meanwhile, of the 196 members of Congress who accepted funds from former FTX executives, 73% did not respond to CoinDesk's' requests for comment.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is now writing his own newsletter while under house arrest at his parents' $4 million property: 'I didn't steal funds'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Presumably writing from his parents' $4 million property in Palo Alto, California near Stanford, Sam Bankman-Fried published a lengthy newsletter yesterday, titled "FTX Pre-Mortem Overview." One statement stood out to me: "I didn't steal funds, and I certainly didn't stash billions away." In the note, Bankman-Fried highlighted that both FTX and Alameda Research were raking in billions in profits in 2021. A key to the collapse, he explained, was 2022's crypto bear market that left just about every token worth dramatically less than the year prior. Well, Bankman-Fried yesterday outlined two versions of the hedge fund's balance sheet, one from each of the past two years.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried says tweets from Binance's CEO in November were a 'targeted attack' on Alameda's assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried said Alameda's assets were the focus of a "targeted attack" by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. "In November 2022, an extreme, quick, targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda insolvent," Bankman-Fried wrote. "In November 2022, an extreme, quick, targeted crash precipitated by the CEO of Binance made Alameda insolvent," Bankman-Fried said. A series of crashes in the crypto market last year led to a roughly 80% decline in the value of Alameda's assets. "Over the few days in November, Alameda's assets fell roughly 50%."

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